Potentially Habitable Planet Discovered Outside Our Solar System

Astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that’s so similar to Earth it might sustain life. Its temperature runs between 32 and 104F. It’s 14 times closer to its star (a red dwarf) than we are to the Sun, but the star, Gliese 581 (shown at right), is smaller and dimmer. The star is 20.5 light years from Earth and located in the Libra constellation.

"Liquid water is critical to life as we know it and because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extra-terrestrial life. On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X," added Xavier Delfosse, a member of the team from Grenoble University, France.

But we won’t likely be meeting the planet’s residents, should they exist, any time soon. As one commenter points out: "At 1 million miles an hour it would take over 15,000 years to get there." Unless its inhabitants have figured out a way to travel faster than the speed of light.